Bed of the dried up Njelele Dam in Venda, South Africa during a time of periodic drought.
Umgeni Water Task Force Officer from the Drought Relief Programme examines the dried bed of the Njelele Dam in drought- stricken South Africa. Intermittent droughts in the Transvaal have changed the perception of a province previously considered to have adequate supplies of surface water. There is a widespread view that global warming is happening but this has yet to be conclusively scientifically proven and the effect of this phenomenon on water resources is unknown. The consensus is that the effect will be to accentuate the extremes with more pronounced droughts and more severe flooding. The main cause of growing water scarcity is the growing demand resulting from population increase. Poverty is a major factor in water scarcity. During drought emergencies, the price of water for basic survival in remote rural areas becomes very high. As traditional sources fail, communities do not have the resources to provide alternatives such as drilling new boreholes and may have to buy water from commercial vendors at high costs. Water shortage will always have more extreme consequences for the poor than for the rich. Providing adequate drinking water is recognised as a worldwide problem and is particularly severe in rural and rapidly growing urban areas. In the developing world one out of six people live without regular access to safe drinking water and diseases related to water kill a child every eight seconds and are responsible for 80% of all illnesses and deaths. The availability of water of acceptable quality is predicted to be South Africa's single greatest and most urgent developmental constraint. Virtually all surface waters are already committed for use and water has to be imported from neighbouring countries. To secure our future and that of the next generation, we must all use water wisely. No single measure can do more to reduce poverty reduce disease and save lives than providing safe water, along with adequate sanitation and hygiene awareness.
Size: 5669px × 5669px
Location: Njelele Dam, Venda, South Africa
Photo credit: © qaphotos.com / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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